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The dark days of SOPA and PIPA are behind the US, at least temporarily as copyright tycoons reground and restrategize, attempting to come up with measures that don’t cause the entire internet to shut down in protest.

But one country has already moved ahead with similar legislation. The government of the Philippines has passed the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which on the surface, as usual, sounds perfectly well-intentioned. But when you read the actual contents of what’s been deemed “cybercrime,” SOPA’s proposed censorship sounds downright lax by comparison.

Yes, there’s the usual hacking, cracking, identity theft and spamming, which most of us can agree should be illegal. But there’s also cybersex, pornography, file-sharing (SOPA’s main target) and the most controversial provision, online libel.

Now, as someone who has been the target of many a vicious attack from commenters or forum posters, I can understand frustration with the nature of online anonymous criticism. But to actually try to make such a thing illegal? You wade into dangerous waters that anything resembling freedom of speech will likely drown in. And that’s overlooking the free speech implications trampled by banning pornography and file-sharing as well, two provisions getting less attention due to the severity of the libel section.

Via CBS, a senator who opposed the bill explains its potential ramifications:

“If you click ‘like,’ you can be sued, and if you share, you can also be sued,” said Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, one of the lawmakers who voted against the passage of the law.

The provision, according to Guingona, is so broad and vague that it’s not even clear who should be liable for a given statement online. And if you’re found guilty, get ready to spend up to 12 years in prison.

Guingona poses the question, who exactly is libel for the libel? Is it the person who made the statements? Anyone who reblogged or retweeted them? The website on which the comments were made? Anyone who commented in assent or even clicked ‘like’? The way the law is worded, the Filipino police could actually charge you with simply criticizing them or the government in a way they deem “malicious,” a word very much open to interpretation.

One of the two Senators who inserted the libel provision, Vincente Sotto III, stands by it.

“Yes, I did it. I inserted the provision on libel. Because I believe in it and I don’t think there’s any additional harm.”

Again, much like SOPA, these are lawmakers who don’t understand the true implications of the law on the technology they’re attempting to regulate. Or maybe they do, in this case. Sotto recently came under fire online for plagiarizing speeches from an American blogger and Robert F. Kennedy which he used to rail against a controversial reproductive health bill.

On social media sites like Reddit, young Filipinos are lamenting the seemingly backwards nature of their government’s recent policies, decrying that they were able to pass a law like this one heavily censoring the internet, but not the aforementioned legislation to teach sex education and give out birth control in schools.

Opponents of SOPA and PIPA should stand up to web tyranny everywhere, and when a supposedly free country institutes censorship practices like that of China and Iran, something is very wrong with that picture. Despite huge protests against the law, the government, as of yet, shows no sign of backing down.

Once again we see a mix of ignorance to technology and the desire to exert further control over a population. Neither is pretty, and neither has any place in a good government.

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this is so ridiculous…as far as i know we filipinos have our freedom to speak what’s on our mind…and whatever people post,tweet or blog its just expressing themselves your making it too personal then its up to the reader how you put meaning into it………and this law was made because of the incident that one senator was involved to?i don’t understand why the government thinks only themselves but not they’re people

However, this time with this kind of law, everything will be based on how the government perceives the subject/topic. The law will not only take the real meaning off from what was written, but it will also strip the citizens off from coming up with their opinions/ideas.

I was a single man last year. When I did’t know where to find a lover A friend of mine suggested I take a try on —–Ríçhhookµp. Cᴏᴹ—– and I signed up a free account there. Now I have a new 25 year old wife (i’m 45)

It’s a shame that people are trying to exert power over the new found communication medium used by those in the middle and lower class. Here’s an example of how some local police officials, using their unofficial FB page (with over 9000 likes), made a simple threat to a critic: http://www.rappler.com/nation/13410-pnp-warns-against-using-foul-word-vs-officers-online

Help Filipinos put an end to this assault on the freedom of speech. This petition is addressed to all branches of government – the executive (which will implement its provisions), the legislative (which has the power to amend the law), and the judiciary (which has the power to declare the law or its provisions unconstitutional). Sign it in support of Internet freedom: http://www.change.org/petitions/junk-the-cybercrime-prevention-law

It’s ironic, really. The sitting president is the son of a national hero, hailed here as the one who fought for our freedom from the Marcos dictatorship. This president promised us the Freedom of Information Law, the Reproductive Health Law, neither of which has been passed. Instead, we get the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which is replete with unconstitutional provisions and oppressive penalties.

Prior to the cybercrime law, Senator Sotto was under fire from the Philippine online community after he brazenly plagiarized and quoted out-of-context several blog entries on the reproductive health bill.

I’m making over $7k a month working part time just using the Google. I feel so much freedom now that I’m my own boss who can choose his working hours. You can make above $2000/day too, working for this billion dollar company. This is what I do, buzz17.com

You might get sued by saying the truth! LOOOL. Anyways well said. He’s such a cry baby. He just making it more worse and as if it’s a personal issue. It’s Gov vs Citizens now. Without the Citizens there wouldn’t be a Gov. may our voices be heard.

I never thought that I would experience another form of dictatorship in my life. First was when I was still a child. And now the freedom to express that has always been one of the things I have regarded as the most important aspect of human life is being threatened. Thanks to this new Philippine Cyber Crime law that has been passed, I fear that our incompetent government is doing nothing but suppr ess the people of free will.

Yes being responsible in using the internet is important, but to impose a law that would hinder the growth of the new generation as they take on the innovation of the world is unforgivable. No wonder there were people who decided to take down government sites as a sign of protest. This act may have been something that the government will recognize as a hideous crime but, to me it looked more like how people or the masses would react when driven to a corner. People will fight back.

Just because those incompetent people who are sitting in a position of power that we have elected to put them in cannot do their job right does not mean that, they have the right to use their power to to protect themselves from the blatant truth. The people’s opinion matters. May it be published on the internet, said verbally or even expressed in any medium. An opinion will always be an opinion.

And in my opinion the government is utterly useless passing laws for personal gain and robbing the poor. Justice has already been stolen by corrupt officials. I did not believe the campaign of our current president from the start that he aims to set things right. He is currently making it worse by betraying the trust of the people with the means of invading the privacy of the people who are using the internet.

No wonder people fleeing the country. The government is undermining our will. I would rather die than live in this country where the teachings of our national hero is being mocked by officials who oppress the will of the people that put them in that place of power.

I am sorry to say this, but the government today does not only suck balls it is also very incompetent and that those who even signed the bill are nincompoops. They can throw me in jail for all I care. and the moment that they do they have wronged my opinion in which they can and should never win in any court. Unless they pass a bill for that too.

It’s really funny how Benigno Aquino Jr, our current presidents father died to give our people a voice, when his son goes ahead to sign a bill to hinder it. I find it hilarious Vicente Sotto I passes a law for press freedom but III not only denies obvious plagiarism but also adds a section for what seems to be personal vendetta.

John Kennedy Ozores is right. They haven’t proven anything to the people and yet they always claim to be for the people. A lot of Filipinos are still jobless, homeless and starving, crime rate has never gone down and yet they find their selves fixing things that shouldn’t be fixed. Are these so-called Government Officials really for the people? I say they are just hypocrites that are basking themselves in the riches of taxpayer’s money and stepping on the rights of their own countrymen.

Majority of our people suffer from poverty, lack of education, lack of jobs, lack of proper health care and yet our government deems it fit to budget 50 million to hinder our freedom of speech which go against the 1987 constitution, third article under the Bill of Rights. I guess that’s what their priorities are. They’d rather silence the people than build a better future.

Share this to everyone, the technology is already being used here in big companies, its called AscenFlow by a company called XTERA. In the revision of the law for Cyber Crimes in which cases of prima facie as deemed by the government, they have full authority to put one of those appliance in the core switch of any ISP and its instant digital feed of everyones activity and data (it will see everything – with automatic logging). Complete network visibility at any given time with spontaneous sniffing capability of all its users – http://www.xtera.com/Products/WANOptimization/AscenFlow.aspx – its pretty much like the carnivore system of the FBI, but for commercial use.

October 2, the Supreme Court sitting en banc is set to hear several petitions for prohibition against the Cybercrime Prevention Law.

If the high court junks these petitions and disapproves the request for a temporary restraining order (TRO), the Cybercrime Prevention Law will take effect the following day, forever changing the Internet landscape in the Philippines — possibly even killing Internet freedom.

I AM AGAINST ALL CRIMES., and bullying in any form.. albeit some good points it speaks more of how weak we are as a nation… this CyberCrime Law is incompatible with the guarantees in our Bill of Rights under the Constitution, “ THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ARTICLE III BILL OF RIGHTS, Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.cralaw ” They should focus more on poverty, education,. And the list goes on…

The internet-using population and number of internet-centric businesses are still much smaller here in the Philippines than in the US and that’s why our collective voice is not yet loud enough, not unlike the anti-SOPA and anti-PIPA campaign. We could really use help even just through articles such as this. Thanks.

It is unfortunate that the non-internet-using population are probably the people who voted these people who wrote such laws into power. The majority probably wouldn’t care so much about the bill. But as you said, the issue is its effect on free speech and all that. I already feel like I’m in another country already, where we have very limited freedom. It’s a very sad day.

out of all the senators reading cyber-crime law being passed. everyone looked at child pornography and hacking. no one ever looked at the libel and plagiarism provisions listed. how effin retarded can we get. no its not fun in the philippines. you know what? sue me.

… I wonder how much budget has been put in place to implement the law?

This is a saga…

What is the point of going on the web now, if a user cant do a lot of things? Fair enough with illegal downloads and such.. but for example on pornography… i cant imagine someone being arrested for obtaining a playboy magazine in real life.. but in cyber space it’s possible! Thanks for the genuis idea of cybercrime law! To such extent… they should limit pornography but not prohibit the whole of it… i don’t think they even had a thought about the specifics… everything about this law seems so vague, which is dangerous…. coz you dont know when and what you could possibly violate!

I wonder how they could implement this law whilst pirated dvds and cds are sold in streets in the philippines…

… I wonder how much budget has been put in place to implement the law?

This is a saga…

What is the point of going on the web now, if a user cant do a lot of things? Fair enough with illegal downloads and such.. but for example on pornography… i cant imagine someone being arrested for obtaining a playboy magazine in real life.. but in cyber space it’s possible! Thanks for the genuis idea of cybercrime law! To such extent… they should limit pornography but not prohibit the whole of it… i don’t think they even had a thought about the specifics… everything about this law seems so vague, which is dangerous…. coz you dont know when and what you could possibly violate!

I wonder how they could implement this law whilst pirated dvds and cds are sold in streets of the philippines…

50Million Pesos!!! Wow that is a lot… that amount could sustain medical and health needs, upgrade minor infrastructures… the point is… this isnt the priority of the country.. it is so ridiculous!

Imprisonment/conviction of those who will get caught is also impractical… couldn’t those who break this law be given 3 warnings atleast? Or do something with ISP’s block the websites.. suspend the user from internet subscription… why FINE straght away… why is imprisonment the first option? SHAMEFULLY SPEAKING, the prison cells in the Philippines are so over populated, dirty and could no longer accommodate more people.

this is a violation of one of the basic civil rights, which is freedom of speech, that a democratic country, in which the philippines is one, should have. everyone is entitled to their opinion and they should voice it out without the fear of ramifications.

I don’t know if it is some browser issue that I’m having, but the little picture next to the name seems to be blacked out for all posters who seem to be Filipino (sorry guys, if I spelled incorrectly).

It seems, somehow, oddly appropriate.

I appreciate the commenter who quoted the Filipino constitution Bill of Rights (which obviously mirrors the US Bill of Rights)- that helped me understand better that such a law is as atrocious to the law of the Philippines as it is to that of the United States.

Our two countries and peoples have a long and often-shared history, and Americans should stand with Filipino liberty-lovers on this issue!

Let me add one additional perspective here- The Philippines is a country that can’t afford to put its Internet economy at risk. When American technology companies (or tech departments at large enough non-tech companies) want to outsource coding or development to lower-wage nations that have tech talent, there are three main places they go- India, Ukraine, and the Philippines. It is an important piece of the Philippine economy- and lawmakers who neglect that fact are fooish indeed.

It mustn’t be forgotten that also, fairly recently, a debate on palgiarism was concluded with the result that plagiarism is PERMITTED in the Philippines. ( apparently someone copied, verbatim, something from someone else then did NOT put the required attributes to the original author).

I can say that the senators who voted yes for that bill are ignorant, selfish and greedy. Majority of them are not even lawyers and they surely don’t understand the law. I can also say that there might have been a big amount of money involved for saying yes to that bill. I can also say that the Philippine Cybercrime law is nothing but an attempt to curtail freedom of speech or more likely press freedom. But I wouldn’t say that because I don’t want to be sued ;) So I would just keep quiet and pretend that this law is good for me. (Yeah right)